How To Write Emails That Sell (You)!

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First off, let me offer a ...
This article is NOT ... "sales letter" emails that a lot of us use to promote ...
Rather, I would like to discuss those ... ones First off, let me offer a disclaimer: This article is NOT aboutthose "sales letter" emails that a lot of us use to promote ourbusinesses.
Rather, I would like to discuss those OTHERemails....the ones that get ignored, overlooked, and even sweptunder the rug. That's right, I want to discuss those plain,everyday, "correspondence" emails and the effect they can have onyour sales and marketing.I work in a business where about 75 to 80 percent of ourcommunication is done through email.
That means I get to read aLOT of messages, and it is really surprising how many of them areeither hard to understand or easy to misinterpret!It is my opinion that, even though email is seen as being a"secondary" form of business communication, we should look at itas we would any other type of writing -- that is, as a permanentdocument that our customers and associates will use to judge ourcredibility.The main problem, I think, is the fact that email is soinstantaneous and so easy to use. It's very easy to think ofemail as being something that doesn't really matter, so we justjot off an email without thinking about it, just as if we werechatting in a conversation.
Unfortunately, this often leads tomessages that are hastily thought out, hard to understand, or --worst of all -- written in anger.This shouldn't be the case -- we should make sure that our e-correspondence is as well-thought-out as our sales letters oroffice memos, and that they show the qualities that customerslook for -- things such as a commitment to quality, friendliness,and service.To help create this kind of image, here are a few simplesuggestions. These are mostly common sense, but as I mentionedbefore, it's often easy to forget these things when you are in arush to answer those 300 messages in your "In" box!* Make sure e-mail is the best way to communicate your message.In other words, know when NOT to send an email.
For instance,sending an Email is almost instant, but that doesn't mean thatemail is the quickest way to get in touch with a client. Mostpeople will only read their email once or twice a day, whichmeans that if you need to get in touch with a person right away,you probably will want to call them.Confidential information is also best left off of email, for tworeasons.
First, Internet security is getting better and better,but there are still many ways that your sensitive email can be"hacked into" by unscrupulous individuals. The second problem,which I have heard about more often than I would like, is thefact that with one simple mistake, you or your recipient couldsend a sensitive email to the whole corporation!* Be correct in your writing.
It's amazing how many emails getsent without the benefit of punctuation, capitalization, or evenfull sentences. Not only does this make it harder for the readerto understand the message, it gives the reader the impressionthat the sender is either sloppy or incompetent -- or that theydon't care enough to take the time to send a proper message.Also, be cautious about sending a message in ALL CAPS.
In the"lingo" of the Internet, a message in all caps means that thesender is shouting. Certainly, there may be times you want tocreate this impression, but use it carefully!* Give context to your emails.
Once, I received a message fromsomeone that consisted of one word -- "Yes." It took me 1/2 anhour just to figure out what question I had asked in the firstplace!Always give enough context to your messages so that your readerswill understand what you are talking about. If you are respondingto a prior e-mail, it's usually enough to just include themessage you are responding to.
Don't, however, fall into the trapof including each and every message in a 40-message emailconversation -- That's probably just a little TOO much context!* Give full contact information. This one is pretty simple --always let your recipient know who sent the message.
Don't trustyour email address to provide this information; Always sign yourmessages with your full name and organization, just as if youwere sending a regular letter. Having a signature file can bevery helpful for this.* Be as prompt as possible.
Once again, this is a no-brainer, butit is easy to lose track of your messages, especially when youget a lot of them. I've found the best way to managing myresponses is to religiously use the mailbox function on my emailprogram.
As soon as I respond to a message, it goes into aseparate mailbox (usually organized so that each client has theirown mailbox) -- that way, I know that everything in my "In" boxis something that needs a response.* Think BEFORE you send! This is probably the most importantthing you can do when you are sending email. Almost every horrorstory I have heard about email has something to do with someonewho sent an email while in an emotional state, or who sent anemail without double-checking the message and who it was goingto.If you get a message that makes you angry, don't send an emailback right away.
Take some time to settle down so that you aren'tsending a message that you will regret later. Remember that yourangry words can be "saved" by your recipient, and you don't wantthem to come back to haunt you.Also, always double-check your message to make sure it saysexactly what you want it to say, that it is going ONLY to thepeople who you want to see it, and that it is coming from theright address (important if you have a number of different userson your system).Remember -- once the email is sent, you can't call it back!Just one last note: I'm not saying that we should take as muchtime with an email as we would with a business proposal or casestudy.
What we SHOULD do, however, is make certain that everypiece of correspondence we write, whether it is a sales letter,an inter-office memo, or an email message, should reflect theimage that we want to maintain -- one of professionalism,competence, and caring. Article Tags: Make Sure Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com.